Lives Changed as Charities Give Away More than 400,000 Hearing Aids

A woman cries, children smile, and old men hug everyone around them as they experience the joy of hearing once again – some, for the first time.

The gift of hearing is “one of the most transformational experiences you can give,” says Jean Oelwang, CEO of Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation set up by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.

Her organization began partnering with the Starkey Hearing Foundation four years ago. Together the charities recently worked with volunteers from around the world to outfit dozens of people in Soweto, South Africa with hearing aids.

It’s part of the Starkey foundation’s pledge to donate a million hearing aids to low-income people in more than 100 countries within ten years. The group has been giving away free hearing aids for decades – and more than 100,000 annually since 2010 – tuning their mission into an amplified success.